Dewhurst Leads Cruz by Eight in Own Poll

By Kevin Brennan

Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has a lead in his runoff campaign against former state Solicitor General Ted Cruz, according to a poll obtained by Hotline on Call that was conducted last week for Dewhurst's Senate campaign. The survey of 601 likely Republican primary runoff voters shows Dewhurst leading Cruz, 50 percent to 42 percent.

The results clash with a Cruz internal poll released last week, which showed Cruz leading Dewhurst by a similar margin. Cruz's poll was conducted more than a week before the Dewhurst survey.

Dewhurst and Cruz are facing off in a July 31 runoff for the Republican nomination in the race to replace retiring Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Dewhurst, who has served as lieutenant governor for the last decade and has a financial advantage over Cruz thanks to his personal wealth, has been considered the frontrunner since the beginning of the race. He outpaced Cruz by 11 points in the May 29 GOP primary, but failed to win a majority, forcing the runoff.

The poll numbers come as both candidates seek to define each other and the state of the race with less than three weeks before the runoff. Both campaigns released new television spots on Tuesday.

The Dewhurst internal poll was conducted July 5 through July 8 by Baselice & Associates, a well-known Texas polling outfit. The poll has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 4 percentage points.

ADVERTISEMENT

Don't Miss Today's Top Stories

“

Excellent!"

Rick, Executive Director for Policy

“

Concise coverage of everything I wish I had hours to read about."

Chuck, Graduate Student

“

The day's action in one quick read."

Stacy, Director of Communications

“

I find them informative and appreciate the daily news updates and enjoy the humor as well."